1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to control systems for vehicles.
2. Related Art
Modern vehicles, and in particular luxury cars, may include on-board systems having programmable user settings. As an example, the driver's seat of a vehicle often has multiple controls that allow the user to set the seat's horizontal position, height, inclination, degree of lumbar support, temperature, etc. As another example, the audio system of a vehicle may include numerous settings that a user may adjust, such as the volume, balance, equalization profile, selection of radio stations, traffic information settings, etc. As a further example, the heating and air conditioning systems may also include various settings adjustable by a user.
A driver of a vehicle may invest a lot of time and effort adjusting a vehicle's settings to his or her personal preferences to provide an optimum driving experience. Unfortunately, these personal settings may be lost when the vehicle is driven by others. The loss of a driver's personal settings and adjustments may be an annoyance to a driver who must continually re-adjust a vehicle's settings to meet the driver's personal needs and/or desires. Furthermore, if a driver does not adjust the vehicle's settings before driving, he can be tempted to make adjustments while driving, which may reduce his level of concentration below a safe level.
On-board systems of many modern vehicles are controlled electronically by a central controller in the form of an on-board computer that distributes data to the vehicle's components via a vehicle data bus. Several of these systems are capable of storing the personal settings of particular drivers in an on-board computer so that a driver may recall his/her personal settings before driving. When settings are recalled, a vehicle's on-board control system may automatically be adjusted to conform to the saved personal settings of a particular driver. One method of recalling the settings may include providing the vehicle with several uniquely identifiable keys, each of which belongs to a different distinct driver/user. When an identifiable key is inserted in the vehicle's ignition or door handle, the vehicle's control system recognizes the key as being associated with stored settings and adjusts the vehicle settings to correspond to those associated with the uniquely identifiable key. Another method of recalling personal settings may include prompting the user to enter a personal identification number (PIN) on a keypad controlled by the vehicle control system. In all these methods, the personal settings of the driver are stored in the vehicle's control system.
Such on-board control systems may operate satisfactorily when a vehicle has a small number of regular users. As an example, the same vehicle may be utilized by several members of a family. However, in the case of vehicles for hire, e.g., rental cars, or company fleet cars, where a particular user may never drive the same car twice, such a system may be impractical. Accordingly, a need exists for a system that allows for a vehicle control system to communicate with a user device to allow the control system to record personal settings for the user device and to adjust vehicle settings based upon personal setting information stored for the user. In this manner, vehicles for hire, company fleet vehicles or other similarly used vehicles can automatically adjust to conform to the personal settings of any driver.